Nick Jonas praises 'incredibly smart' Selena Gomez

Nick Jonas has praised his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez, calling her "incredibly, incredibly smart".

The 23-year-old, who dated Selena from 2008 until 2010 when they were both successful Disney stars, told Entertainment Weekly that his former flame's new music was excellent.

"Selena (Gomez) has been incredibly, incredibly smart. She played me (her 2015 album) Revival maybe six months before it came out and I knew, like, this is excellent. I was such a fan of Good for You and Hands to Myself."

He made the comments ahead of his performance at BBC Radio 1′s Big Weekend on Saturday (May 28) in Exeter, England, where he also revealed that he would love to tour the U.K.

Nick, who flew in from London via helicopter to open the concert at Powderham Castle, told local newspaper Exeter Express & Echo that he was trying to put a tour together for next year (17).

"Traveling by helicopter was really fun and it make (sic) the travel time a lot shorter that's for sure. I am heading back to London straight after the performance but so far what I have seen of Exeter it has been great," he said.

"I don't have any plans to come back at the moment but that could always change, we are trying to put a UK tour together for next year."

Before his opening set, which included his hits Closer and Jealous, the Jonas Brother said he was excited to set the tone for the rest of the day. "I definitely feel a lot of pressure so that I set the tone right but I am really excited," he added.

His comments about Selena come as his former flame broke down on stage while performing her Revival tour in Canada on Thursday (26May16). Singing her 2011 hit Who Says, which features the lyrics, "Who says you're not perfect/Who says you're not worth it?", she audibly sobbed as she was about to sing the chorus.

Us Weekly reports that she then turned to the crowd and let her fans carry on singing the song as she tried to compose herself. After they had finished, a teary-eyed Selena told them,"Thank you guys for spending your night with me. Whether you’ve been here from the beginning or now, it’s just been such a crazy ride because you’ve seen me go through my ups and downs, and I couldn’t be more grateful."