"Switch" is a song by American actor and rapper

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

. It was released on February 14, 2005, as the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from his fourth studio album, ''Lost and Found'' (2005), via

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...

. Smith co-wrote the song with Kwame "K1 Mil", who also produced the track, and Lennie Bennett. Upon its release, the single topped the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, peaked at number seven on the US ''

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'' Hot 100, and became a top-10 hit in several other countries.

Live performances

Will Smith performed the song live on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

2005 Kids' Choice Awards The 18th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards was held on April 2, 2005. The event was hosted by Ben Stiller and was held at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. Performers *Will Smith - "Switch" * Simple Plan - " Shut Up!" Presenters *Cameron Dia ...

with former JammX Kids members

Alyson Stoner Alyson Rae Stoner (born August 11, 1993) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her film roles include '' Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003), '' Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' (2005), and the ''Step Up'' franchise (2006–2014). Her television roles ...

and Monica Parales as his backup dancers, at

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before Game 1 of the

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between the

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and the

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, on BET's ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rat ...

'', and at the

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 2005 ...

concert in

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Commercial performance

"Switch" was Smith's highest-charting single from ''Lost and Found''. On the chart dated April 16, 2005, the song peaked at number one on the ''Billboard''

Hot Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally start ...

chart, selling 40,000 digital copies. The peaked at number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Smith's third and last Hot 100 top 10 hit. It reached number one in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

and Australia, where it remained for one week, and number four in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The song was released days after '' Hitch'', which Smith starred in and produced. It did not appear in the film or soundtrack.

Track listings

US promo CD # "Switch" (album version) — 3:17 # "Switch" (instrumental) — 3:15 # "Switch" (a cappella) — 3:15 UK and Australian CD single # "Switch" — 3:17 # "Switch" (main RnB remix) — 3:47 (3:46 in Australia) # "Switch" (instrumental RnB remix) — 3:48 # "Switch" (video) — 3:30 European CD single # "Switch" — 3:17 # "Switch" (main RnB remix) — 3:46 European maxi-CD single # "Switch" — 3:17 # "Switch" (main RnB remix) — 3:46 # "Switch" (instrumental RnB remix) — 3:48 Digital download # "Switch" — 3:16 Digital download – Remix # "Switch" (R&B remix) — 3:46

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the Australian CD single liner notes. Studios * Recorded at the Boom Boom Room (Los Angeles,

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, US) and

the Cutting Room Studios The Cutting Room Recording Studios is a recording studio in New York City, opened in 1995 by David Crafa. The company is currently located in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City. History David Crafa started The Cutting Room studios while ...

(New York City) * Mixed at the Boom Boom Room (Los Angeles, California, US) Personnel * Will Smith – writing (as Willard Smith), vocals * Kwamé Holland – writing, production (as Kwame "K Mil") * Lennie Bennett – writing * O. Banga – vocal production * Pete Novak, Dylan Margerum – recording engineers * Kevin (KD) Davis – mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2004 songs 2005 singles Interscope Records singles Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director) Number-one singles in Australia Songs written by Kwamé Songs written by Will Smith Will Smith songs