Crossword puzzle clue "event for which one must take a bow before starting"

Event for which one must take a bow before starting

Singer of "Take a Bow," which jumped 52 spots to #1 on the charts in one week in 2008

Trees from which one can take a bow?

Predicted "Game of Thrones" event which is reportedly "fucking confirmed" and about which to "get hype"

"He must have a long spoon that must ___ the devil"

"For men must ___ women must weep": Kingsley

Bow to bow, perhaps

Starting a project ... and what the letters between the starting and ending pairs of letters in each starred answer are doing?