[2][3] She debuted as a professional singer in 1957 at the Avenida club, in Rio de Janeiro, the same venue where two other musical stars, Elizeth Cardoso and Ângela Maria began their careers.

[5] That year Alaíde Costa participated in a performance held at the Faculty of Architecture in Rio along with many young musician names and captivated the audience with her rendition of Chora tua tristeza, composed by Oscar Castro-Neves and Fiorini, becoming the most acclaimed artist along with Sylvia Telles.

The following year, she released the LP Alaíde jóia moderna; in this work, in addition to using compositions by other artists such as Baden Powell and Billy Blanco, she starred as a songwriter with the song Canção de amor sem fim, written in collaboration with Geraldo Vandré.

At the Teatro Paramount in São Paulo she was one among many leading figures in the show O fino da bossa, with a rich lineup of musicians, some from Rio de Janeiro - Nara Leão, Jorge Ben, Wanda Sá, Rosinha de Valença, Os Cariocas, Marcos Valle - and other Paulistas born or raised, such as Walter Wanderley, Paulinho Nogueira, Claudette Soares and the Zimbo Trio; [11] and on that occasion Alaíde Costa achieved great public and critical success with the song Onde está você.

1965 saw the release of the LP Alaíde Costa, which included compositions by Valle, Castro-Neves and Chico Buarque and featured Tudo o que é meu, written by the singer in collaboration with Vinícius de Moraes.

[5] Due to health problems, the singer retired from the stage until 1972, when she participated in the LP Clube da Esquina with the inclusion, in the company of Milton Nascimento, of the song Me deixa em paz.

Three years later she performed with Johnny Alf at Queen Elizabeth Hall participating in the London Jazz Festival, and in 2005 she released the CD Tudo que o tempo me deixou, where Costa was backed by a quintet.

In the same year, also as part of the celebrations, Alaíde Costa released the album Alegria é guardada em cofres, catedrais, together with guitarist Toninho Horta.