| 100% | YOUNG | 5 | In the saying and song, only the good die this way |
| 47% | ETCETERA | 8 | In The King and I, the king says this three times |
| 47% | BILLYJOEL | 9 | Singer of Only the Good Die Young and Piano Man |
| 45% | SOMETHING | 9 | "__ in the way she moves", says the song |
| 44% | EGOS | 4 | These can get in the way of good relationships |
| 43% | TINATURNER | 10 | "The Best" singer, and what this puzzle is, in the circles |
| 42% | FIVETIMESFAST | 13 | Hard way to say the answers to the starred clues in this puzzle (good luck!) |
| 42% | OLDMACDONALD | 12 | Children's song featuring the animals and sounds in this puzzle |
| 42% | SOAPS | 5 | Galen of Pergamon described these in the 2nd century and stated the best were Germanic with Gaulish ones second best |
| 42% | VMAS | 4 | Where Olivia Rodrigo won Best New Artist and Song of the Year in 2021, for short |
| 40% | SKINDEEP | 8 | In the saying, beauty is only __ |
| 39% | CYNTHIAERIVO | 12 | Nominee for the Best Actress and Best Original Song Oscars for her work in "Harriet": 2 wds. |
| 39% | GANDHI | 6 | Who said "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others" |
| 39% | INES | 4 | The Chernobyl disaster and the Fukushima Daiichi disaster are the only level 7 incidents ever reported in this measurement system |
| 39% | OUT | 3 | "Only one way to find ___!" cliche dialogue said in many movies like "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and "The Karate Kid Part III" |
| 38% | IDEALLY | 7 | In the best way |
| 38% | FIGHTFORYOU | 11 | "Judas and the Black Messiah" song that won an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2021 (3 wds.) |
| 38% | ONLY | 4 | "___ the Good Die Young" (1977 Billy Joel song) |
| 38% | EBERT | 5 | Film critic Roger who said, in his review of Burn Hollywood Burn, "The only way to save this film would be to trim 86 minutes" |
| 37% | LADY | 4 | With 34-Across, nominee for the Best Actress and Best Original Song Oscars for her work in "A Star Is Born" |
| 37% | TTTTTTGROUPS | 12 | The Beatles and the Dave Clark Five, in a way |
| 37% | LIONELRICHIE | 12 | Singer who won the Oscar in 1986 for Best Original Song, "Say You, Say Me": 2 wds. |
| 37% | GUTHRIE | 7 | Woody —, US folk singer, composer of the song This Land is Your Land, who died in 1967 |
| 37% | JAY | 3 | ___-Z, rapper who won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song in 2010 for "Run This Town" |
| 37% | OLDIE | 5 | Song popular in the 1960s, say |
| 37% | LESLIEODOMJR | 12 | Nominee for the Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Song Oscars for his work in "One Night in Miami ...": 3 wds., abbr. |
| 37% | CANDLE | 6 | __ in the Wind, song by Taupin and John |
| 37% | UGLY | 4 | The Good, the Bad, and the this |
| 37% | EDIT | 4 | Change for the better, in a way |
| 37% | OLDIES | 6 | Songs from the '60s and '70s, say |