The MTV Video Music Awards kicked off last night with a poignant, tender tribute to fallen icon Michael Jackson, but soon got back into raucous character thanks to Kanye West, who delivered yet another awards show outburst at the expense of country and pop sweetheart Taylor Swift.

West changed the mood after the tribute from bittersweet to just plain bitter. West, who has flipped out after losing at a number of awards shows, butted into Swift's speech after she won best female video to complain that the wrong person had been awarded a trophy and Beyoncé should have won instead. The celebrity crowd booed West, who apologized after the show on his blog.

Beyoncé later invited Swift onstage to finish her speech after Beyoncé won video of the year.

ELTON JOHN, PARTNER WANT TO ADOPT

Look out, Madonna and Angelina Jolie — pop star Elton John has decided he wants to join the ranks of A-list celebrities with adopted children.

But it's not clear if John, 62, will be able to adopt, and the Rocket Man has not yet started formal proceedings, which are often long and complicated.

John and longtime partner David Furnish are interested in trying to adopt a Ukrainian toddler named Lev they met during an orphanage tour there. The singer told reporters in Ukraine on Saturday that Furnish has long wanted to adopt a child but that he was reluctant until he met Lev.

FBI INVESTIGATING 'STOLEN' KENNEDY NOTE

A newspaper reported yesterday that the FBI is investigating a "stolen" handwritten condolence note by Jacqueline Kennedy to Ethel Kennedy that was penned shortly after Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 assassination.

The Dallas Morning News reported that investigators and Kennedy family members suspect the note was taken from Robert and Ethel Kennedy's McLean, Va., home. In 2006 it made its way to a Dallas auction house, but one of Robert Kennedy's sons, Max, told the FBI his family had never given nor sold the note.

Robert Kennedy was shot and killed in Los Angeles during his presidential campaign. The undated note appears to have been written after his June 8, 1968, funeral.

FBI spokesman Mark White says the note, which was seized Aug. 27 from the auction house, is considered "a stolen good" and part of a criminal investigation.

'I CAN DO BAD' TOPS WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

Being bad is good for Tyler Perry, whose latest movie, "I Can Do Bad All By Myself," opened at the top of the box office this weekend with more than $24 million.

The Lionsgate comedy stars Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson as a hard-drinking nightclub singer forced to care for her delinquent niece and nephews.

In second was the dark, animated "9" from Focus Features, which made $10.9 million this weekend, according to estimates yesterday. Since its Wednesday opening — on 9-9-09 — the movie has made about $15.3 million.