Four years later, "Cha-Cha Slide" became a hit in Europe and Australia, especially in the United Kingdom, where it topped the UK Singles Chart in March 2004.

In its original form, the song was just a set of instructions that Perry wrote for his nephew to call out in his Orientation class at the club.

Perry recorded his performance of the original version of the song, titled "Casper Slide Part 1" in January 1998 using "Plastic Dreams" by Jaydee as the musical track.

Horton claimed many radio stations initial response to the song was, "There's no way we're playing it," but Universal's promotion department was persistent and finally got it on the air.

Horton accurately predicted the future of the song: "It's like a novelty that will eventually die down, but it will never go away completely—just like the electric slide and the bus stop are still around.

"[4] In 2001, the following year, the dance caught on around Canada and the United States, where urban contemporary radio stations (and later mobile DJs) played the song continuously.

obtained a false copyright registration under the title "Casper Cha-Cha Slide (Live Platinum Band)".