Toronto-area singer Anjulie Persaud made her debut two days ago on iTunes and at Starbucks front counters throughout the States. It’s an auspicious launch: she’s talented, sounding like a poppier Nelly Furtado. There are any number of plastic desi singers running around in size zero dresses and size zero talent, but the young Indo-Guyanese chanteuse isn’t one of them. Her material is far more interesting, and her video team is gifted too:

Anjulie is a Canadian singer/songwriter from Oakville, Ontario Canada, a suburb outside of Toronto… the youngest of four children of Guyanese-Canadian parents… Two of her unreleased singles have been featured on MTV television series: “Rain” on The Hills and “Addicted2Me” on several episodes of The City. Anjulie’s debut single “Boom”… reached number one on the U.S. dance chart in 2009. [Wiki]

The bulk of Anjulie was co-penned and produced by Jon Levine, keyboardist for the Philosopher Kings, whose Gerald Eaton and Brian West were responsible for Furtado’s first two albums; and then, of course, there’s that voice–a slightly silkier, less idiosyncratic version of Furtado’s nasally mezzo-soprano… Lead single “Boom”… pairs a South American-inflected brass arrangement with spaghetti western-style guitars and the singer’s infectious “boom-shalaka-laka” hook. [Slant]

It was years ago that the now 25-year-old - real name Anjulie Persaud - was on a high-school internship at a Toronto recording studio, cleaning consoles and making coffee, when former Philosopher King Jon Levine walked through the door… “We started talking, he invited me out for lunch, and I left with him for lunch. And I ended up getting fired,” says Anjulie, who’s now living in Los Angeles… Her parents are originally from Guyana, and Anjulie says she spent a lot of time as a child digging through their collection of calypso, reggae, and South American music. [Metro]

‘Boom started with a conga loop that I found in a dingy studio in Toronto with my producer Jon on a wintry night in February, where we survived on nothing but raisins and pizza crust. I wrote it about someone I had a huge crush on and I wanted to express that moment when you hear their name or they walk into a room and your heart just drops into your chest… The video concept by Adria Petty is an Alice in Wonderland vibe…’ [E Minor]

Anjulie’s ultra-hooky sound is on-par with the likes of Nelly Furtado and Gwen Stefani, especially the track “Jamba” which could be destined to be a smash pop single. [Torontoist]

… ['Boom' is] kinda sorta a female version of ‘She Bangs,’ only Anjulie is nothing like as dynamic or fun or, dammit, as downright sexy as Mr. R. Martin. The problem is, when she’s trying to be sultry but not whispering, Anjulie sounds bored and nasal. [Spinner]

Anjulie grew up in Canada, and she’s half Guyanese (like Leona Lewis)… [MTV]

Her noirish hit song:

Listen to more at her official site, MySpace and Twitter.

Amardeep has more.