| 100% | ARIANA | 6 | With 8-Across, singer with back-to-back #1 albums in 2018 and 2019 |
| 52% | WINEHOUSE | 9 | Singer with albums Frank and Back to Black |
| 47% | JARULE | 6 | Rapper with back-to-back triple-platinum albums in 2000 and 2001 |
| 45% | YOULL | 5 | With 21 Across, 3 Down, 8 Down, and 20 Down, response to Ralphie's request for a BB gun in "A Christmas Story" |
| 44% | JUSTIN | 6 | With 35-Across, "Yummy" singer who won the Pop Album of the Year Juno in 2011 and 2016 |
| 43% | ADELE | 5 | Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer with no words in her album titles |
| 43% | LEA | 3 | Singer/actress ___ Michele with a hit Christmas album in 2019 |
| 42% | GEORGESTRAIT | 12 | 18-Across and 29-Across singer who released his 30th studio album, "Honky Tonk Time Machine," in 2019 (2 wds.) |
| 42% | ASHANTI | 7 | Singer with a self-titled #1 album in 2002 |
| 42% | BUTTERFLY | 9 | Word that must be added to 1-, 8-, 65- and 66-Across for their clues to make sense [with a visual hint in the grid] |
| 41% | DONTBIGEMPTY | 12 | With 45 Across, a query put to Bob Hope in 1939's The Cat and the Canary |
| 40% | MARS | 4 | Singer Bruno who won Grammys for Record, Album, and Song of the Year in 2018 |
| 40% | BEYONCE | 7 | 14-Across, 8-Down, and 49-Across singer whose "Cowboy Carter" won Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 2025 |
| 40% | NORTH | 5 | WIth 8-Across, diplomatically negotiated participant in the 2018 Winter Olympics |
| 40% | STEVIEWONDER | 12 | Singer with four No. 1 songs in the 1980s, including "I Just Called To Say I Love You" (2 wds.) |
| 40% | ARIANA | 6 | With 38-Across, singer who released "Sweetener" in 2018 |
| 40% | JHENEAIKO | 9 | 15-Across and 25-Down singer whose album 8-Down was recorded in and inspired by Hawaii (2 wds.) |
| 39% | MITSKI | 6 | Singer-songwriter whose album “Laurel Hell” marked her return to music after quitting in 2019 (February, 2022) |
| 39% | CHER | 4 | Singer with #1 hits in the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s |
| 39% | JCOLE | 5 | Rapper with #1 albums in 2011, 2013 and 2014 |
| 39% | ALICIAKEYS | 10 | Singer with the #1 albums "As I Am" and "Girl on Fire" |
| 39% | DOMINICTHIEM | 12 | Austrian tennis pro who was runner-up to Rafael Nadal at the French Open in both 2018 and 2019 (2 wds.) |
| 39% | BADMINTON | 9 | Sport played with a shuttlecock where players hit it back and forth in an attempt to make the other side miss |
| 38% | JUSTINBIEBER | 12 | "Yummy" singer with the 2021 #1 song at 16-Across and the #1 album at 44-Across: 2 wds. |
| 38% | ALLIWANTFOR | 11 | With 33-Across, holiday tune that hit #1 on the Billboard charts in 2019, 2020, and 2021: 4 wds. |
| 38% | LEA | 3 | Actress and Singer ___ Michele, who released her third album, "Christmas in the City" in 2019 |
| 38% | LULU | 4 | Singer and actress who played Barbara Pegg in 1967 film drama To Sir, with Love |
| 38% | ARIANA | 6 | Singer Grande with the #1 albums "Yours Truly" and "My Everything" |
| 38% | SELENAGOMEZ | 11 | Singer with the #1 albums "Stars Dance" (2013) and "Revival" (2015) |
| 38% | USHER | 5 | Singer with the #1 hits "Yeah!" and "Love in This Club" |