Beginnings Cuca Roseta began her musical career by singing in her church choir; she then became a rock singer after being recruited by her friend
Tiago Bettencourt to the group
Toranja during her teenage years. Roseta entered the
fado scene at the age of 19, singing in Lisbon fado clubs in the
Alfama district. In 2006, Roseta competed in
RTP's
Festival da Canção with the song "As Minhas Guitarras", and in 2007 she appeared in the
Goya Award-winning film
Fados by the Spanish filmmaker
Carlos Saura. In 2009, Roseta recorded the advertisement
Pingo Doce e venha cá for the Portuguese supermarket chain
Pingo Doce.
Albums Cuca Roseta's first album was released in 2011 and was produced by
Gustavo Santaolalla, who saw her perform at the Clube de Fado. After this initial encounter, in which Roseta was not aware of the Argentine producer's identity, In 2013, Roseta recorded the album
Raíz (in English: Root), which was produced by Mário Barreiros. Roseta wrote most of the album's songs. Roseta invited the Brazilian producer
Nelson Motta to collaborate on her third album; Motta agreed to produce the album although he had not recorded an album for more than ten years. The 2015 album called
Riû brought together several genres and many significant figures of world music such as
Bryan Adams,
Djavan,
Ivan Lins,
Zeca Afonso,
Dorival Caymmi,
Júlio Resende,
Sara Tavares and
Jorge Drexler. With Motta's knowledge of
world music the record reinvented songs with different origins in a "world fado" style, departing from the traditional sadness of fado with cheerful rhythms and positive lyrics. In 2017, Roseta's fourth studio album
Luz, which was produced by Diogo Clemente, was released. The album contains several original songs by Roseta and compositions by artists
Pedro da Silva Martins, Jorge Fernando,
Carolina Deslandes,
Hélder Moutinho and Mario Pacheco. The album's release was preceded in mid-October by the release of the single "Balelas". In July 2018, the track "Don't Be Late" was released as a second single. Roseta released her fifth album
Luz de Natal—a Christmas album with Portuguese versions of songs such as "
Jingle Bell Rock" and "
White Christmas"—in 2018. She published a book of poetry in 2019 called "One hundred poems by Cuca Roseta". Her 2020 album
Amália Por Cuca Roseta is a tribute album of songs from the repertoire of
Amália Rodrigues. In December 2020 Cuca Roseta released the album
Meu (in English: Mine), with all the themes written and composed by her, which is unprecedented in the fado genre. The album was presented in an online live concert on December 2, the day of her birthday. In 2023 she released the album
Rayana in collaboration with Spanish guitarist
Daniel Casares.
Live performances Cuca Roseta has toured extensively, performing in more than 30 countries, giving individual concerts and participating in music festivals such as
MEO Sudoeste in 2011. In 2015, Roseta performed more than 120 concerts, both in Portugal and abroad. That year, she participated in
Badasom, a
flamenco and fado festival in
Badajoz, Spain, where she sang a duet with
Niña Pastori. In 2019, she sang in
Havana during the celebration of the centenary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and Portugal. In 2020 she performed at the
Teatro Real during the Madrid fado festival, participated in an event in Buenos Aires celebrating the 100th birthday of Amália Rodrigues, and sang the
Portuguese national anthem at the opening of the
2020 Portuguese Grand Prix. In April 2021 she sang
Lisboa inspira, the official anthem for Lisbon European Sports Capital 2021, composed by herself, at a ceremony attended by the Minister of Education of Portugal
Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, and the coach of the Portuguese national soccer team
Fernando Santos. At the end of the same month she was invited by the Spanish flamenco musicians Daniel Casares, guitar, and
Jorge Pardo, flute and saxophone, to present their project called Supertrío in a performance at the
Teatro del Soho in Málaga. In May 2025 she opened the 4th edition of the Estremoz Fado Festival.
Television, modelling and commercial appearances Cuca Roseta has had many television appearances, mainly in Portugal. She was part of the experts' panel in
Rising Star: A próxima estrela and a judge in the third and fourth seasons of
Got Talent Portugal. She competed in
Dança com as Estrelas ("
Dancing with the Stars Portugal"), and gave a clue in an episode of
The Amazing Race 23 and again in
The Amazing Race Australia 3 as the judge. In 2014 Bryan Adams photographed five Portuguese female singers, including Cuca Roseta, which appeared in covers for
Vogue Portugal, and were presented in the "Exposed" exhibition at the
Cascais cultural center. Roseta has done several commercials throughout her career, and served as brand ambassador for diverse companies and products such as
Mitsubichi Motors, the
Guess clothing brand, jewelry, and nutritional supplements. She did a travel guide video highlighting her favorite spots in Lisbon, as part of a 2018 promotional campaign by
Avani Hotels & Resorts. In 2022, Cuca Roseta partnered with the Portuguese coffee brand Kaffa to promote the company’s emphasis on national identity. As part of the collaboration, she hosted the six-episode podcast
Kaffa com Alma (Kaffa with Soul), featuring conversations with guests about inspiring personal experiences. Since 2024, Roseta has been a coach on
The Voice Kids Portugal. ==Musical style==