[1] Shende started her career with the music album "Kaisa Yeh Jadoo" which was well received by the masses and was critically acclaimed.

In 2008 she crooned a bhajan in the Ashutosh Gowariker directorial Jodhaa Akbar for an A. R. Rahman composition and got an IIFA Award for Best Female Playback nomination for the song.

Her renditions of lavnis "Apsara Aali" and "Vajle Ki Baara" from the Marathi film Natarang were well received.

Bela has lent her voice for various music directors most notably Ilayaraja, A. R. Rahman, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Ajay–Atul, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Lalit Pandit, M. M. Keeravaani and Sohail Sen. She went on to receive the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer, for rendering the song "Khurkhura", in the year 2014 at the 61st National Film Awards.

Initially she lent her voice to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the epic historical drama Jodhaa Akbar, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker.

She sang the song "Marathi Breathless" from the album Kanherichi Phule which was composed and directed by Tejas Chavan.