"end of the road" debuted at number 53 on the "billboard" hot 100 on july 18, 1992, jumping to number 30 the following week. the next week the song reached the top ten at number 8, and reached the top five the week after at number 4. the following week, the song peaked at number one, holding the position for 13 consecutive weeks from august 15, 1992 to november 7, 1992. on november 14, the song was finally succeeded by "how do you talk to an angel" by the heights. it also spent four weeks atop of the "billboard" hot r&b/hip-hop songs chart.