"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 Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...
. 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
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
,
''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 Mus ...
. 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 ''
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 advertise ...
''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' 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), radio play, and online streaming ...
, 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 ...
'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 Diaz ...
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 i ...
and Monica Parales as his backup dancers, at
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
before Game 1 of the
2005 NBA Finals
The 2005 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2004–05 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs played the Eastern Conference cham ...
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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...
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 league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
, on
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
'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 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 200 ...
concert in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
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 tot ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, 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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
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,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, 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
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
Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director)
Number-one singles in Australia
Songs written by Kwamé
Songs written by Will Smith
Will Smith songs