This year's Oscars got off to a great start -- with none other than Beyonce leading the charge with a musical number that wasn't even in the building ... and a little help from her kid.
Venus and Serena Williams were the first faces we saw Sunday as the telecast got underway from within the Dolby Theater in DTLA, with the two super star athletes immediately tossing things to Bey ... who did a live performance of her song 'Be Alive,' and doing so from a tennis court in Compton.