Within the world music genre, success -- in terms of sales -- doesn't compare with the likes of mainstream pop and rock categories. What world music successes there have been have had a rather short shelf life, and were mainly cultivated by the major record companies.
Thus, there have been a few one-off hits for the likes of the Gypsy Kings, and from dance crazes such as the Lambada about 10 years ago. Some Western artists, notably Deep Forest and Enigma, have added various "ethnic" voices to modern rhythms, in some cases giving little credit to their sources. On a more positive note, Paul Simon and David Byrne have collaborated with African and Brazilian musicians to great effect. But the attempts of African stars like Youssou N'Dour or Salif Keita to reinvent themselves as pop artists in the Western world have mostly left their record companies in the red.
The current mania for the Latin pop of Ricky Martin or Marc Anthony owes much to the influence of Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine. Sung in English or Spanglish, the music is simply pop tinged with Latin, rather than world music.