The actress paid tribute to the late actor with an emotional performance in his memory.
Lea Michele paid tribute to Cory Monteith while kicking off her new tour.
The Glee alum honored the memory of her former co-star and boyfriend -- who died July 13, 2013 -- while performing the first show on her An Evening With Lea Michele: Life in Music tour in Washington, DC, on July 20.
Michele, 35, delivered a performance of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love," which her character on Glee, Rachel Berry, sang during the show's special tribute episode to Monteith and his character, Finn Hudson.
Before singing the meaningful tune, she opened up about its significance and revealed that Glee creator Ryan Murphy had asked her to decide which song Rachel would sing in Finn's honor -- so she chose one that she and Monteith had actually listened to together while dating.
"I don't even remember what I was listening to at the time. Like, nothing. I was just in such a hole... I'm grateful that he asked me. Because it needed to be something that felt real for me," Michele said, per E!.
Michele told the crowd that shooting the episode had been difficult, but was ultimately helpful in regards to her coping and coming to terms with her loss. However, she admitted that she's never actually watched the finished episode.
"It's the only one I've not seen. Because I think if I don't watch it, it just kind of feels like Finn is still there," Michele explained. "So this [song] is very special."
A week before the concert, Michele honored Monteith on the 9th anniversary of his untimely death with a heartfelt photo.
On her Instagram Story, the actress and singer shared a throwback pic of her gazing up at a suited-clad Monteith while she held a bouquet of flowers and sported a light blue dress. She captioned the image with just a heart emoji.
Fans were stunned when the Canadian actor was found dead in his room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The BC Coroners Service later determined that Monteith died from mixed drug toxicity, involving heroin and alcohol. He was just 31 years old.
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