"Switch" is a song by American actor and rapper
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...
. It was released on February 14, 2005, as the first
single from his fourth
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
,
''Lost and Found'' (2005), via
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, 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 ...
. Smith co-wrote the song with
Kwame "K1 Mil", who also produced the track, and Lennie Bennett. Upon its release, "Switch" topped the
Australian Singles Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, 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 beca ...
, peaked at number seven on the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
, and became a top-10 hit in several other countries.
Live performances
Will Smith performed "Switch" live on the
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
's
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 ...
with former JammX Kids members
Alyson Stoner
Alyson Rae Stoner (born August 11, 1993) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. Their film roles include ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003), '' Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' (2005), and the ''Step Up'' franchise (2006–2014). Their television role ...
and Monica Parales as his backup dancers, at
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
before Game 1 of the
2005 NBA Finals
The 2005 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2004–05 NBA season, 2004–05 season, and the culmination of the 2005 NBA playoffs, season's playoffs. The Western Conference (NBA), Wes ...
between the
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
and the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
, on
BET
Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...
'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- rated ...
'', 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 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
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
.
Commercial performance
"Switch" was Smith's highest-charting single from ''
Lost and Found
A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property, lost articles th ...
''. On the chart dated April 16, 2005, the song peaked at number one on the
''Billboard'' Hot Digital Songs
The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking so ...
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 Australia, where it remained for one week, and number four in the United Kingdom.
Track listings
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,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, 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 w ...
(New York City)
* Mixed at the Boom Boom Room (Los Angeles, California, US)
Personnel
*
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...
– 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
See also
*
List of number-one singles of 2005 (Australia)
*
List of UK R&B Singles Chart number ones of 2005
*
List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top-ten singles in 2005
*
List of number-one ''Billboard'' Hot Digital Songs of 2005
References
{{Authority control
2004 songs
2005 singles
Interscope Records singles
Number-one singles in Australia
Songs written by Kwamé
Songs written by Will Smith
Will Smith songs