| 100% | PETRIFIED | 9 | G. Gaynor's song, At first I was afraid, I was __ |
| 75% | PETRIFIED | 9 | At first I was afraid I was __, sang Gloria Gaynor |
| 44% | PART | 4 | "___ of Me," hit song by Katy Perry which was first performed at the 54th Grammy Awards |
| 42% | APEA | 4 | "I Got ___" (silly children's song with the line "Why is everyone laughing at me?") |
| 41% | ABBA | 4 | Pop band that was Sweden's first winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest |
| 38% | ONCE | 4 | "___ I was afraid, I was petrified..." |
| 38% | SINATRA | 7 | His first #1 song was "All or Nothing at All" |
| 37% | TIMES | 5 | Square where the words in this puzzle's dropping balls may be heard at the end of a song's first verse |
| 37% | MEMORY | 6 | Barbra Streisand hit song with the lyrics "I can smile at the old days / I was beautiful then" |
| 37% | SURVIVE | 7 | "I Will ___," song by Gloria Gaynor |
| 36% | ALAD | 4 | When I was ___ ("H.M.S. Pinafore" song) |
| 36% | TOCELIA | 7 | Song whose second line is "And I will pledge with mine" |
| 36% | KISS | 4 | "___ Me," song by Sixpence None the Richer that was the first song Taylor Swift learned to play on guitar |
| 36% | YOUTUBE | 7 | Website whose first video was "Me at the zoo" |
| 36% | ALIBI | 5 | "I was at my girlfriend's," e.g. |
| 35% | SIGHT | 5 | "Love at First ___," hit song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2003 |
| 35% | ROBINSON | 8 | At first, __ Crusoe was alone on an island |
| 35% | GONNA | 5 | "It's ___ Be Me" (*NSYNC song) |
| 35% | SKIPPER | 7 | Barbie's little sis who was 8-years-old at first |
| 34% | LOVING | 6 | I've Been __ You, Elton John's first single |
| 34% | BLACKDOG | 8 | 52-Across song with the lyrics "At least I know that you are trying / But that's what makes it terrifying" (2 wds.) |
| 34% | APPLE | 5 | First U.S. company to be valued at $1 trillion |
| 34% | FALLING | 7 | Hit song by Harry Styles which was performed for the first time at the 2020 Brit Awards |
| 34% | CRY | 3 | First track on Mariah Carey's 2012 album "Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse" |
| 33% | APPLE | 5 | First public U.S. company to be valued at $1 trillion |
| 33% | ARIANAGRANDE | 12 | "Don't Call Me Angel" co-singer whose 2019 song "Thank U, Next" was her first #1 single (2 wds.) |
| 33% | WHEN | 4 | "___ I Look at You," hit song by Miley Cyrus that was featured in the 2010 film "The Last Song" |
| 33% | MOBY | 4 | "___-Dick" (novel whose first line is "Call me Ishmael") |
| 33% | LIGHTS | 6 | *"You Probably Couldn't See for the ___ but You Were Staring Straight At Me," song by Arctic Monkeys |
| 33% | REMEMBER | 8 | Song by Sarah McLachlan: I Will __ You |