| 100% | SHAPE | 5 | "___ of My Heart," lead single from Backstreet Boys' "Black & Blue" that celebrates 25 years in 2025 |
| 42% | TEENAGE | 7 | "___ Dirtbag," iconic Wheatus anthem from their eponymous debut album that celebrates 25 years in 2025 |
| 39% | BYE | 3 | When repeated thrice, NSYNC's iconic breakup anthem from "No Strings Attached" that celebrates 25 years in 2025 |
| 38% | OOPS | 4 | "___!... I Did It Again," title track from Britney Spears' album of the same name that celebrates 25 years in 2025 |
| 37% | REAL | 4 | "The ___ Slim Shady," song from Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP" that celebrates 25 years in 2025 |
| 35% | BEAT | 4 | "___ It," a hit single from Michael Jackson's album in 16a that won a Grammy for "Record of the Year" |
| 35% | DAY | 3 | "Beautiful ___," uplifting track from U2's "All That You Can't Leave Behind" that celebrates 25 years in 2025 |
| 32% | HOTLINEBLING | 12 | Lead single from Drake's fourth album "Views," that won him two Grammys in 2017: 2 wds. |
| 31% | KICKSTART | 9 | "___ My Heart," song from Motley Crue's fifth album that also features in their biographical film |
| 29% | TIME | 4 | (I've Had) the ___ of My Life," song from "Dirty Dancing" that features in season 2 of "The Office" |
| 29% | HANUKKAH | 8 | Jewish festival of lights that will be celebrated from December 2nd to 10th this year |
| 29% | BOTTOM | 6 | "___ of my heart," idiom that means very sincerely |
| 29% | ADELINE | 7 | "The flower of my heart" in song |
| 28% | ADELINE | 7 | "The flower of my heart," in old song |
| 28% | JUGULAR | 7 | — vein, any one of four in the neck that return blood to the heart from the head |
| 28% | TWO | 3 | Number of years that passed before the news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached African Americans in 25-Across |
| 28% | TIME | 4 | "In My ___ of Dying" 1975 song by the rock band Led Zeppelin that was released in their album "Physical Graffiti" |
| 27% | NEEDLE | 6 | Item prominently displayed in NYC that actually came from the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III, 1400 years before Cleopatra |
| 27% | LIFE | 4 | "(I've Had) The Time of My ___," song from the movie "Dirty Dancing" that won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1987 |
| 27% | GRACE | 5 | "___ of My Heart," movie in which Ileana Douglas plays a singer-songwriter |
| 27% | SNL | 3 | NBC show celebrating 50 years in 2025 |
| 27% | NUDE | 4 | Second single from Radiohead's album in 18a, that had a different title originally and was supposed to be part of the album "OK Computer" |
| 27% | MIDDLECHILD | 11 | J. Cole single from the album "Revenge of the Dreamers III" that was nominated for a Best Rap Performance Grammy Award in 2020 (2 wds.) |
| 27% | IWISHYOUROSES | 13 | Lead single from 49-Across's 2023 album "Red Moon in Venus" (4 wds.) |
| 27% | TBIRDS | 6 | Group led by 15-Across that was called the Burger Palace Boys in the original Broadway production of 43-Across (Hyph.) |
| 27% | YOURESOVAIN | 11 | Carly Simon song that was in the Top 10 on the "Billboard" Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1973 (3 wds.) |
| 27% | CROCODILEROCK | 13 | Elton John song that was in the Top 10 on the "Billboard" Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1973 (2 wds.) |
| 27% | LETSGETITON | 11 | Marvin Gaye song that was in the Top 10 on the "Billboard" Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1973 (4 wds.) |
| 26% | THE | 3 | From ___ bottom of my heart |
| 26% | TORNADO | 7 | "Bad luck, I guess … It was my turn, that's all. I was in the path of the ___" (quote from 18-Down) |