| 100% | STILLIRISE | 10 | Classic poem with the lines "Did you want to see me broken? / Bowed head and lowered eyes?" |
| 37% | ITOO | 4 | Langston Hughes poem with the lines "They'll see how beautiful I am / And be ashamed" |
| 37% | ITOO | 4 | Langston Hughes poem with the lines "They'll see how beautiful I am / and be ashamed-" |
| 36% | NICKI | 5 | Rapper with the line “If you want a Minaj, I got a tricycle,” to fans |
| 35% | MYLIFE | 6 | Billy Joel hit with the line "I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home" |
| 34% | IRIS | 4 | Goo Goo Dolls hit with the line "I just want you to know who I am" |
| 34% | MYLIFE | 6 | Billy Joel song with the line "I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home" (2 wds.) |
| 33% | LITTLEJEANNIE | 13 | 1980 Elton John song with the line "I want you to be my acrobat": 2 wds. |
| 33% | ITOO | 4 | Poem with the lines "Nobody'll dare / Say to me, / 'Eat in the kitchen'" |
| 33% | STILLIRISE | 10 | Classic poem with the lines "Leaving behind nights of terror and fear ... Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear" |
| 33% | ITOO | 4 | Hughes poem with the line "They send me to eat in the kitchen" |
| 32% | ITOOSINGAMERICA | 15 | Opening of the Langston Hughes poem with the lines "They'll see how beautiful I am / And be ashamed" |
| 32% | SOMETHING | 9 | Beatles song by George Harrison on 48-Across with the lyrics "I don't want to leave her now / You know I believe and how" |
| 32% | ITOO | 4 | Langston Hughes poem with the lines "They send me to eat in the kitchen / When company comes" |
| 32% | ITOO | 4 | Langston Hughes poem with the lines "Nobody'll dare / Say to me, / 'Eat in the kitchen,' / Then" |
| 32% | ITOO | 4 | Langston Hughes poem with the lines “They send me to eat in the kitchen / When company comes” |
| 31% | GETIT | 5 | "Can I ___" (Adele song with the line "All I want is for you to be mine") |
| 31% | TAKEN | 5 | 2008 movie with the line "I will find you, and I will kill you" |
| 31% | ISIS | 4 | Dylan song with the line "What drives me to you is what drives me insane" |
| 30% | HELLO | 5 | 48-Down song with the line "But when I call, you never seem to be home" |
| 30% | CCRIDER | 7 | Classic blues song with the line "I'd rather be dead than to stay here and be your dog" |
| 30% | LEAVEMEOUTOFIT | 14 | "I want nothing to do with this!," and how to make the six starred clues match their answers |
| 30% | WEAREFAMILY | 11 | Sister Sledge classic whose second line is "I got all my sisters with me," and a hint to the starts of 17-, 24-, 39-, and 49-Across |
| 29% | ONBENDEDKNEE | 12 | Boyz II Men 1994 hit with the line "I'm begging you, begging you come back to me": 3 wds. |
| 29% | WEEZER | 6 | Band with the lyrics "When I was younger, I used to go and tip cows for fun, yeah / Actually, I didn't do that 'cause I didn't want the cow to be sad" |
| 29% | CHEAPTRICK | 10 | Band with the 1979 hit "I Want You to Want Me": 2 wds. |
| 29% | MOUNTAINHIGHVALLEYLOW | 21 | Classic song with the repeated line "If you need me, I will be nearby" ... shown symbolically in this puzzle |
| 29% | APIANO | 6 | "I Love __": Irving Berlin song with the line "So you can keep your fiddle and your bow" |
| 28% | ODNIGHTIRENE | 12 | Classic song with the lyric "I'll see you in my dreams" |
| 28% | CHEAPTRICK | 10 | *Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band with the hits "The Flame" and "I Want You to Want Me" |