Ne-Yo, the R&B star who is also the Senior VP of A+R at Motown, slammed Lady Gaga, saying she may be ridiculously talented but she won't stand the test of time. He explained that he feels that the iconic, transcendent pop star is a thing of the past. He then backpedaled via Twitter, of course. 

In a chat with The Daily Star (quotes via MTV U.K.), he posed the question: "Who was the last real icon to come out of the music industry? Everybody thought it was going to be Lady Gaga, but where is she right now, what's going on with her?"

Well, Ne-Yo, let PopCrush fill you in. Ma Monster is currently on her sold out Born This Way Ball tour. She just released a gazillion-selling fragrance and is hard at work on her upcoming album 'ARTPOP.' She has launched her own social media site especially for her fans and just notched her 30 millionth Twitter follower. Hmm, did we miss anything?

While some of that social media stuff is ancillary, it's all reality and part of the landscape we live in 2012, where the digital world is what creates pop icons -- Gaga has that market cornered.

Ne-Yo also said, "Not to take anything away from her because she's ridiculously talented, but artists who stand the test of time -- you just don't see those any more."

Well, Gaga is only getting started. She's 26. She has a lot more time ahead of her to become a bigger icon. What's the rush?

Ne-Yo did qualify what he meant, in terms of what type of acts he is looking to sign to Motown, saying, that the label wants to "breathe fresh air into R&B." He continued,  "...but Motown was not always cutting-edge, it was soulful but good pop music too. They were always at the top of the charts in the '60s, and today the lines are getting blurred again with R&B artists doing dance and pop acts doing R&B. I feel now it's just about good music again. Motown needs to stand for quality music, period."

When word began to travel that Ne-Yo trashed Gaga, he then tweeted that he did not diss Gaga, backpedaling profusely.

Below is his tweet.

Watch the Ne-Yo 'Let Me Love You' Video

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