In January's Glamour, Britney Spears opens up about the past year - "it has been a hell of a year for me," she says - her new album Circus and her future.

Recording Circus - which drops Tuesday on her 27th birthday - "has helped take my mind off certain things," she says. "For me, my music is therapy."

The star - who made her first live performance Wednesday in Germany since her 2007 MTV Video Music Awards disaster - is feelin' the love these days.

"When I received the awards and the audience stood for me, it showed me how much love is out there," says Spears, who swept the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards.

Britney, who was notorious for hitting Hollywood hot spots with no underwear for awhile, says her life has become a lot calmer these days.

"I don't like going out. I hate clubs. I hate being around too many people," the singer tells Glamour. "I love my home and staying in my bed and watching Dancing With the Stars or reading a Danielle Steel novel. I'm kind of boring."

On her post-babies body, Spears says, "My body... completely changed [after giving birth], and I have had to work hard at getting it back."

Click to enlarge more Britney Spears pictures from the Glamour shoot ...