THE Masked Singer’s Ne-Yo has been accused of abusing his stardom by demanding up to £1,000 to promote struggling artists.
The £8million R&B hitmaker, who has collaborated with Mariah Carey, Beyonce and Rihanna, wanted bungs to assist young musicians.
Jobbing singer Kyle Passmore was offered a tantalising chance to chase his dream — if he agreed to pay the star.
He told HOAR: “Ne-Yo is abusing his platform. This is predatory behaviour.”
For £300, Ne-Yo is said to show photos of a budding musician on his Instagram account, adding a caption with the artist’s name.
It allows singers to share evidence of the global celebrity “backing” their track.
An £800 payment apparently guarantees Ne-Yo vowing “big moves”, such as recording an introduction to a song.
And a £1,000 fee is said to buy a duet with the star.
The US songwriter, real name Shaffer Chimere Smith, saw his UK fame rocket after being unveiled as Badger and finishing runner-up on ITV1 hit The Masked Singer.
Ne-Yo, 41, told online followers he wanted to help the “up and coming talent”.
Kyle, 30, from Blackpool, was unaware a pal had put his details forward — and flabbergasted when Ne-Yo got in touch.
But Kyle, who is finishing an album with an “Adele meets Bowie vibe”, began to feel wary as Ne-Yo said: “Have promo starting 300 or can do some other big moves for 800 or more.
“At the end of the day it’s your budget so you tell me.”
Kyle, who reached the semis of 2017 BBC talent show Let It Shine, added: “It became clear what he wanted and it was really poor.
“He’s approaching people to see who’s gullible enough to pay him.”
Last night agents for Ne-Yo had not responded to requests for comment.
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