"Panic Switch" is a song by the American indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band Silversun Pickups

Silversun Pickups

Silversun Pickups is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002. The band comprises Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester....

. It was the first single released from the group's second album, Swoon

Swoon (Silversun Pickups album)

Swoon is the second full-length studio album by Los Angeles alternative rock band Silversun Pickups, released through Dangerbird Records on 14 April 2009...

(2009), on March 17, 2009. The song reached number one on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Alternative Songs chart, becoming their first number-one single on any Billboard chart. "Panic Switch" was the first song by an independent artist to reach number one on the chart in 11 years. After a one week stay at number one, it spent eleven weeks at number two behind Linkin Park

Linkin Park

Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...

's "New Divide

New Divide

"New Divide" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. The song is released as a single and was recorded specifically for Michael Bay's film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The song serves as the film's theme, and was released as a single on May 18, 2009...

". It is also their first Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 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.

The song was featured in a trailer for the 2011 film Sucker Punch.

Chart performance

Chart (2009-2010)	Peak position
German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...	73
Peru Peru Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.... 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