Lea Michele says she is hoping to "rise" out of the despair she has experienced after the death of Cory Monteith.

The singer's Glee colleague and real-life boyfriend passed away in July aged 31 following a lethal mix of heroin and alcohol.

Michele is due to release her debut album 'Louder' next year and she told Ellen DeGeneres that she is looking to create something uplifting in the wake of tragedy. She said:

"I really feel like I'm still trying to figure out all of this. It's been only a few months, but my mom has experienced a lot of loss in her life and she told me at one point, there is an empowerment that comes with grief - at some point you find it. It's very hard but you will find it, and I think at a certain point you can choose to sort of fall from this or you can choose to rise. And that's what I'm just trying to do my best for him, because I know that that's what he would have wanted."

The actress added that she wants to "make something positive for where I go in the rest of my life".

Michele meanwhile has released the single 'Cannonball' from her forthcoming album - check it out below.