Panic Switch

"Panic Switch"
Single by Silversun Pickups
from the album Swoon
Released March 17, 2009
Genre Indie rock, shoegaze
Length 5:44 (Album Version)
4:14 (Radio Edit)
Label Dangerbird
Writer(s) Silversun Pickups
Producer(s) Dave Cooley
Silversun Pickups singles chronology
"Little Lover's So Polite"
(2008)
"Panic Switch"
(2009)
"Substitution"
(2009)

"Panic Switch" is a song by the American alternative rock band Silversun Pickups. It was the first single released from the group's second album, Swoon (2009), on March 17, 2009. The song reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, becoming their first number-one single on any Billboard chart.[1] "Panic Switch" was the first song by an independent artist to reach number one on the chart in 11 years.[2] After a one-week stay at number one, it spent 11 weeks at number two behind Linkin Park's "New Divide". It is also their first Hot 100 entry, peaking at number 92.

When asked about the song, singer Brian Aubert told MTV that the song was added late to the album, almost as an afterthought. It is meant to represent a nervous breakdown, which is a major theme of the album.[3]

The song appeared in the trailer for Sucker Punch[4] and in the Honda Stage video package during the 2016 NHL Winter Classic.

In 2012, Mitt Romney's presidential campaign received a cease and desist request from Silversun Pickups, who alleged illegal use of their song at a campaign event set-up in North Carolina. Romney's spokeswoman, Amanda Henneberg, stated that playing the song before the event began was covered under the campaign's regular blanket license and would not play it again.[5]

Chart performance

Chart (2009-2010) Peak
position
German Singles Chart [6] 73
Peru Doble 9 Year-End Chart 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 92
U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs 1
U.S. Billboard Rock Songs 4
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 38

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[7] Gold 500,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. "Artist Chart History - Silversun Pickups - Singles". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  2. "Silversun Pickups Hit #1 With Lead Single "Panic Switch"". Dangerbird Records. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  3. Montgomery, James (March 5, 2009). "Exclusive: Silversun Pickups Preview A Pair Of Swoon Songs". MTV. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
  4. dangerbirdrecords.com http://dangerbirdrecords.com/news/entry/silversun-pickups-panic-switch-featured-in-sucker-. Retrieved 2014-06-17. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. CNN, Political Unit. "TRENDING: Band demands that Romney campaign stop using its song". CNN. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  6. http://www.mtv.de/charts/germany
  7. "American single certifications – Silversun Pickups – Panic Switch". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
Preceded by
"New Divide" by Linkin Park
Billboard Alternative Songs number-one single
June 27, 2009
Succeeded by
"New Divide" by Linkin Park
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