"Stop!" reached number 52 on the UK Singles Chart when it was first released. Following its re-release in 1989, the song peaked at number four, becoming Brown's highest-charting single to date, and spending 12 weeks on the chart. Additionally, "Stop" topped the charts in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands and Norway, while reaching the top five in Australia, Austria, Finland, France, Ireland and Switzerland. The song was featured in the soundtrack to the 1992 film Bitter Moon.
English singer Jamelia covered "Stop!" after the makers of the 2004 film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason approached her to record it to illustrate an integral part of the film. Jamelia instantly accepted the offer and explained how much she was a fan of the character and of the first film.[32] The exclamation mark at the end of the title was dropped for the Jamelia release.
"Stop" was released as a double A-side with the song "DJ" on 1 November 2004. The single peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart and became Jamelia's fourth consecutive top-10 entry, spending 12 weeks on the chart. It also became her fourth consecutive top-40 single in Australia, peaking at number 37.
The formats of "DJ" and "Stop" received a staggered release. On 1 November 2004, the two-track CD one was released along with the "DJ" CD release. Due to time constraints, the "Stop" music video (directed by Alex Hemming) could not be added in time to make the 1 November release date and so the CD two was released a week later on 8 November 2004. This was also the first DVD single release from Jamelia. The single release also contained a cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas".
It was covered by Polish singer Edyta Górniak in 1989, at age 16, when she gave her first public appearance on a Polish television talent show of which she won.
It was covered by Norwegian singer Ane Brun in 2005, whom released a version (as a duet with Liv Widell) on her album Duets.
It was covered by Icelandic singer Hafdís Huld, whom recorded an a cappella version which was used for a pan-European TV commercial for Mercedes-Benz in the summer of 2008. A fully instrumented version was released as a single in Iceland on 24 October 2008 with a full iTunes release on 24 November via Red Grape.
It was covered by Vietnamese singer Mỹ Tâm on her album 10 Years Anniversary Liveshow 2011: Mỹ Tâm Melodies of time