Oscars 2014: Top 5 Moments
March 3, 2014— -- intro: There were so many noteworthy moments during Sunday's Oscar telecast, some funny, some unexpected and some historic.
PHOTOS: Oscars 2014 Best Moments
Overall, though, there seemed to be a festiveness and camaraderie that hadn't been visible at the Oscars in recent years. The stars appeared to be having a good time and that made for a great show.
Click through to see the Top 5 moments from the Oscars.
Oscars 2014: Full List of Winners
quicklist:title: Ellen DeGenerestext: Ellen DeGeneres got the night off to a rousing start with her opening monologue that showcased her ability to toe the line between edgy and sweet. DeGeneres did what she does best: got the stars to relax while putting on a great show for the viewers at home. When she took a selfie with Hollywood's biggest stars from the audience and tweeted it to her 25 million followers, it broke a new record for most retweets, with well over one million in the first hour. Later, she passed out pizza to the hungry stars, including pregnant Kerry Washington, Julia Roberts and Chiwetel Ejiofor. media: 22745485
quicklist: title: A Musical Nighttext: It almost felt like the Grammys, with musical performances that had the audience standing and cheering. Rock heavyweights U2 performed "Ordinary Love," from "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom." Multiple Grammy-winning artist Pharrell Williams donned his famous hat to perform "Despicable Me 2's" "Happy" and got Lupita Nyong'o, Amy Adams and Meryl Streep to dance with him. Broadway powerhouse Idina Menzel performed the Billboard Top 20 hit song "Let It Go" from "Frozen" and indie darling Karen O performed "The Moon Song" from "Her." Even Robert Lopez and his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, sang their acceptance speech after they won best original song for "Let It Go," and Robert joined the exclusive club of EGOT winners. That is, he has won an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and now Oscar. And if that weren't enough Bette Midler and Pink also performed to standing ovations. media: 22743993
quicklist: title: "12 Years A Slave" Wins Best Picturetext: For all the films showcasing African-Americans, including "The Butler" and "Fruitvale Station," only "12 Years A Slave" received Oscar nominations. It also made history Sunday night, when British director and producer Steve McQueen became the first black person to win an Oscar for best picture. DeGeneres earlier joked that anything could happen Sunday night. "Possibility number one: '12 Years A Slave' wins best picture. Possibility number two: You're all racists," she said. Instead Hollywood appeared the picture of diversity, delivering trophies to Kenyan Lupita Nyong'o for best supporting actress and Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron for best director. Sidney Poitier received a standing ovation when he presented the best director award alongside Angelina Jolie, and Will Smith gave out the final award of the evening for best picture.media: 22747364
quicklist:title: Darlene Love from '20 Feet from Stardom'text: It was no surprise when "20 Feet from Stardom," one of last year's highest-grossing documentaries, won the Oscar for best documentary. What was surprising was the film's star Darlene Love burst out into an a capella version of the gospel hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," bringing the audience to their feet. It was a stirring and long-deserving moment for Love, who has backed up legendary musicians including Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen.media:
quicklist: title: Matthew McConaughey's Speechtext: In a night where the speeches ruled, from Nyong'o recognizing that her joy comes from the pain of others and Jared Leto praising his single, high school dropout mom, Matthew McConaughey delivered another memorable one. McConaughey thanked his late father who he said was celebrating in heaven with "a big pot of gumbo and a can of Miller Lite," and talked about needing someone to look up to, something to look forward to and someone to chase. He then explained that he was chasing his future self who he knows he will never catch up to, but wants to find out who that guy will be. He concluded with his "Alright, Alright, Alright."media: 22747283
