She debuted in the Tamil cinema through the song "Yen Chellam" in Vasanthabalan's film "Album" (2002), and she received success after singing "Munbe Vaa" from "Sillunu Oru Kaadhal" under composer A. R. Rahman. She received her first Tamil Nadu State Film Award. She made her Telugu debut for music director Mani Sharma in "Okkadu" (2003). She made her debut in Kannada cinema with the song "Krishna nee begane baaro" in the movie "Paris Pranaya" (2003). Ghoshal debuted in Malayalam cinema through a studio album of composer Alphons Joseph and later gave voice to his song "Vida Parayukayano" from "Big B" (2007). In 2010, Ghoshal sang for the English independent film "When Harry Tries to Marry". In the same year, Ghoshal rendered her voice for a song "Aadha Ishq" from film Band Baaja Baaraat which composed by Salim-Sulaiman. Satyajit of Glamsham stated, "Shreya Ghoshal's feminine vocal textures have always been reliable in ballads".