Ivete Sangalo’s concert in New York

(…)it won’t be easy for Ms. Sangalo to expand her territory and join performers like Beyoncé, Madonna and Shakira as a globally recognized pop star. There is, inevitably, a language barrier for songs in Portuguese. Ms. Sangalo’s set included two awkward American oldies: “Human Nature” from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” redone as a Bahian sambareggae, and the Commodores’ “Easy,” which she sang accompanying herself on piano. Her duet with Ms. Furtado, “Where It Begins,” was a lightweight but more promising pop fusion: an optimistic love song in English meshed with a Brazilian beat. She also reached for a Spanish-speaking audience; her duets with Juanes and Mr. Torres were bilingual love songs.

Ms. Sangalo has another hurdle: rhythm. Many of her Brazilian hits, like “Cadê Dalila,” use the fast, clattering beat of Bahian carnival music, axé — a beat that few outside Brazil can keep up with. It could be harder for international audiences to assimilate to than Beyoncé’s R&B or Shakira’s midtempo cumbia. She tried one international crossover strategy: putting synthesizers and a common-denominator 4/4 club beat under one medley of hits. But completely giving up that Brazilian propulsion would neutralize her music. It’s the crossover dilemma, and one that Ms. Sangalo still needs to work out.”(...)

source: The New York Times

1 - And why should Ivete become "a globally recognized pop star" like Madonna / Shakira / Beyoncé?
2 - Axé is axé, and axé MUST be sung in Portuguese. I hope they don't even THINK about americanizing it.
3 - "Many of her Brazilian hits (...) use the fast, clattering beat of Bahian carnival music, axé — a beat that few outside Brazil can keep up with." --> It is just as well they admit it