Adriana's first album, called Enguiço, was released in 1990 and consisted mostly of covers of well known MPB (Brazilian pop) songs, part of the repertoire she used to perform as a singer in restaurants and bars in Porto Alegre.

In 1994, Adriana, sporting a new look (short black hair as opposed to the slightly longer bright blond haircut she'd had since the beginning of her career) released A Fábrica do Poema, considered by many to be her most poetic album.

She collaborated with lyricists like Waly Salomão and António Cícero (brother and constant musical partner of fellow singer Marina Lima) and included the hits "Metade" and "Inverno".

This was followed by Maritmo (a combination of the words marítimo (maritime) and ritmo (rhythm)), a concept album intended as the first part of a trilogy having water as a main theme.

Her most recent album, Maré, was released in early 2008 and features a guest appearance by the singer's personal friend, Marisa Monte as well as a cover of Marina Lima's song Três.

[citation needed] Since 2015, Calcanhotto had joined Universidade de Coimbra as a university ambassador, acting as visiting lecturer on song composition courses and as an artist-in-residence.