The song topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the UK and Germany.

[13] In a 1990 interview, Van Winkle claimed the two melodies were slightly different because he had added an additional note on the "and" of the fourth beat.

[14] In later interviews, Van Winkle readily admitted he sampled the song and claimed his 1990 statement was a joke; others, however, suggested he had been serious.

[14][15] After representatives for Queen and Bowie threatened a copyright infringement suit against him, the matter was settled out of court, with Van Winkle being required to pay financial recompense to the original artists.

[17] In December 1990, Van Winkle told British youth music magazine Smash Hits where he came up with the idea of sampling "Under Pressure":[18] The way I do stuff is to go through old records that my brother has.

[22][23] The video was financed by Van Winkle's manager, Tommy Quon, and shot on the roof of a warehouse in Dallas, Texas.

Heavy airplay of the video by The Box while Van Winkle was still unknown increased public interest in the song.

[27] The single was quickly pulled from the American market soon after the song reached number one, in a successful attempt to drive consumers to buy the album instead.

[30] Larry Flick from Billboard commented, "Photogenic white rapper rocks impressively over a sparse beat-bed that borrows heavily from Queen's "Under Pressure".

There's just something about the way its hook – a sample from Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure" — grabs you and flings you out onto the dance floor.

"[33] Selina Webb from Music Week said, "Equally lacking in originality yet holding the same commercial appeal".

She added, "The catchy part is borrowed from Queen's "Under Pressure", the vocal is a cool white rap.

"[34] A reviewer from The Network Forty said that "like Mellow Man Ace, the rap melts slowly and is as much a mood piece as it is a cruising tune.

"[37] Similar incidents were repeated several times before Knight showed up at Van Winkle's suite on the fifteenth floor of the Bel Age Hotel, accompanied by Johnson and a member of the Los Angeles Raiders.

The magazine's Jordan Runtagh added: "Though [Vanilla Ice] paid the price, some argue that isn't enough to make up for the potential credibility lost by Queen and David Bowie, who are now linked to him through a collaboration they had no choice in joining.

[43] Originally intended to be released as a hidden track or B-side, "Too Cold" was featured on Van Winkle's 1998 album Hard to Swallow, and received radio play in some markets.

In 2010, the song was featured in the Glee episode "Bad Reputation" as performed by Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison).