Nick Jonas failed to woo Rihanna

Nick Jonas was rejected by Rihanna.

The 23-year-old singer – who has been enjoying a string of dates with Lily Collins in recent months – has admitted he once attempted to "flirt" with the ‘Kiss It Better’ hitmaker but he was left red-faced when she knocked him back.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper, he said: "I flirted with Rihanna once. It didn’t work – but it didn’t not work. It didn’t go anywhere but it was a great conversation."

But, although the conversation didn’t go to plan, Nick hasn’t given up hope for the future as he believes it has paved the way for a potential love affair with the 28-year-old singer, despite the fact she’s rumored to be dating rapper Drake.

He explained: "It laid a good foundation. [Drake and Rihanna] are supposed to be dating or in love, apparently."

Meanwhile, although the hunk failed to steal a date with Rihanna, he did get away with copping a sniff of the Barbadian-born beauty and thinks she smells "amazing."

He added: "She smells amazing, that is one thing I can tell you. Everyone says it but I have actually smelt her now and it’s amazing."

Despite being fairly open about his love life throughout his career, the star has previously said he finds it "strange" that people are so obsessed with who he is dating.

The ‘Jealous’ hitmaker said earlier this year: "It definitely sucks. It sort of feels like, on top of dealing with the situation with the person, you have to be thinking about other people’s opinion about it, and without all the information. The fact that people were intrigued by a 14 or 15-year-old’s relationships was strange to me.

"Now I think it makes a bit more sense. I think it’s kind of amusing, people’s interests. But it’s funny, because I think I live a pretty low-key life."