Lea Michele Says Cory Monteith Continues To Give Her Strength

Lea Michele tragically lost her boyfriend and costar, Cory Monteith, six months ago, and while the loss was certainly devastating, Michele is now focused on moving forward, keeping his memory alive all the while. In a new interview, Michele is opening up about how Monteith's memory has inspired her to launch her music career.

"During Glee, I felt like I was scratching that itch of being an artist. I was at a great place in my life and I was so unbelievably happy -- my relationship with Cory made me feel like I could reach for the stars and more," Michele revealed to Teen Vogue in their March issue. "So I was like, 'I'm going to challenge myself and do this record now.'" 

As she was creating the album, Michele claims Monteith was "such a fan" and even tagged along to one of her studio sessions to support the project.

"He would be like, 'You're going to be a pop star! What are we going to do? Are we going to, like, go on the road?'" she recalls. "He would say, 'This is going to be big! And I'd be like, 'I don't know.' He heard every song and gave me notes on everything. He loved 'Battlefield.' I'm getting chills thinking about it. I would say 'Burn With You' was his favorite. He came into the studio that day."

After losing Monteith, Michele was understandably distraught, but nowadays, she's using their happy times and the love they shared as motivation and strength to move forward.

"I somehow feel the insane love Cory and I had for each other morphed into this strength that I have right now," Michele explained. "There's just something about knowing he's watching everything I'm doing and feeling like I have to do everything now not just for me but for him. I also have a safety net below me -- if I fall or if it's too much, my friends and family will be there to catch me."

Michele's new album, Louder, will be released on March 4, 2014.