Actress Lea Michele has spoken about her former boyfriend Cory Monteith in the March issue of Teen Vogue. As she prepares to release her debut album Louder on February 28, the Glee star has opened up about the loss of Cory to a drug and alcohol overdose. She explained: '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. 'So I was like, "I'm going to challenge myself and do this record now."' Lea Michele and Cory Monteith were an on and off-screen couple Lea also said how Cory encouraged her music career: '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?"' Adding: '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 favourite. He came into the studio that day.' The 27-year-old actress and singer believes that the love she and Cory shared has made her stronger, 'I somehow feel the insane love Cory and I had for each other morphed into this strength that I have right now. '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.'