Lupita Nyong'O, 12 Years A Slave and Twenty Feet From Stardom were amongst the chosen few to receive one of several highly-coveted Oscar statues at the 86th Annual Academy Awards last night, where Pharrell and U2 also performed live. Lupita Nyong'O's Best Supporting Actress win and acceptance speech for her performance as Patsy in Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave captivated the world as she cited the golden statue as proof "that no matter where you're from your dreams are valid." 12 Years A Slave would go on to win for Best Picture later in the broadcast - an award McQueen dedicated "to all the people who have endured slavery and the 21 million people who still suffer slavery today." Director Morgan Neville's Twenty Feet From Stardom received the award for Best Documentary Feature, officially pushing the incredible stories and faces of some of the most unforgettable voices in American music to the fore to receive proper credit after decades of relative anonymity behind the scenes. Darlene Love represented the cast to accept the award with a powerful impromptu performance of "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" at the podium that brought the crowd to its feet.
Director Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity also won big last night with a total of seven statues, including awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score. Jared Leto won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Dallas Buyers Club while co-star Matthew McConaughey won for Best Actor In A Leading Role. Cate Blanchett took home the award for Best Actress In A Leading Role for her performance in Blue Jasmine. U2 performed their song "Ordinary Love" from Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, while Pharrell hit the stage to perform "Happy" - the irresistibly infectious theme from Despicable Me 2; both songs were nominated for Best Original Song and lost to "Let It Go" from Frozen. Check the footage below to watch the performances from Pharrell and U2 along with a few other highlights. Get more on the 86th Annual Academy Awards and the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences via oscars.org.
