| 100% | GRACIOUS | 8 | "Goodness ___ great balls of fire" (lyric from a 1957 hit song) |
| 48% | DAYO | 4 | Start of a 1957 hit song |
| 47% | FEELINGMYSELF | 13 | Nicki Minaj hit song from "The Pinkprint" with the lyric "I am a rap legend, just go ask the kings of rap" (2 wds.) |
| 45% | STARS | 5 | Great balls of fire |
| 45% | SUNS | 4 | Great balls of fire |
| 45% | SUNS | 4 | Great balls of fire? |
| 45% | MILKYWAYGALAXY | 14 | Great balls of fire? |
| 45% | SUN | 3 | Great ball of fire |
| 45% | GREAT | 5 | "___ Balls of Fire," 1957 song by Jerry Lee Lewis that was featured in the film "Top Gun" |
| 43% | SUN | 3 | Great ball of fire in the sky |
| 42% | GOODNESS | 8 | "__ gracious, great balls of fire" Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 41% | ONE | 3 | A hit song by U2, which is considered one of the greatest songs of all time |
| 40% | SUN | 3 | Great ball of fire in the sky, also central to this grid's theme |
| 40% | TRUFFLEBUTTER | 13 | Nicki Minaj hit song from "The Pinkprint" with the lyric "I floss everyday, but I ain't a dentist" (2 wds.) |
| 40% | JERRYLEELEWIS | 13 | "Great Balls of Fire" singer who was a charter inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: 3 wds. |
| 39% | RESPECT | 7 | Aretha Franklin hit ranked #1 on a Rolling Stone magazine "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list |
| 39% | DENNISQUAID | 11 | Actor who portrayed Jerry Lee Lewis in 1989 biopic Great Balls of Fire! |
| 39% | TIPTOETHRUTHETULIPS | 19 | Hit song lyric of 1929 and 1968 |
| 39% | PLAYS | 5 | Hit songs get a lot of them |
| 39% | ONE | 3 | A hit song by U2 inspired by the German reunification which is considered one of the greatest songs of all time |
| 38% | EASE | 4 | "He'd fly through the air with the greatest of ___ ..." (line from an old song about a trapeze artist) |
| 38% | JERRYLEELEWIS | 13 | "Great Balls of Fire" singer |
| 38% | RISING | 6 | Hit song from the Animals: "House of the __ Sun" |
| 38% | SHALLOW | 7 | Hit song from 2018's A Star Is Born |
| 38% | STROKE | 6 | Hitting of a golf ball |
| 37% | REWRITEMEMORY | 13 | Compose a second draft of a hit song from "Cats"? |
| 37% | OLDIE | 5 | Song from a "Best of" album, maybe |
| 36% | GAME | 4 | "___ of Thrones," TV series adapted from the novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire," which is ranked 12th on Rolling Stone's 2016 list of "100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" |
| 36% | FEELINGS | 8 | Hit song of the 1970s with a repetitive "whoa whoa whoa" chorus |
| 36% | YODEL | 5 | Song from the top of a mountain, often |