Lea Michele feels like Cory Monteith is ''watching everything'' she does.

The 'Glee' star was left devastated when her co-star and boyfriend was found dead in a hotel in Vancouver, Canada, from a drug and alcohol overdose last July, but he made her feel like she could do anything and inspired her to launch her solo music career.

The 'Cannonball' hitmaker told the March issue of Teen Vogue: ''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.' ''

The 27-year-old star is glad that Cory, 31, was able to listen to some tracks from her upcoming debut album, 'Louder,' before his death and said he was ''such a fan.''

She added: ''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 brunette beauty still feels very connected to the late actor.

She explained: ''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.''