Coined as “PHASE ONE of the MOONCHILD saga,” “Switchblade” is the pop singer’s first solo musical offering of 2020. The song features a very synthetic, glitchy pop instrumental, with NIKI singing about discovering a new place as the “Moonchild,” which symbolizes the forlornness of her 18-year-old past self moving to America on oneself, and her search for her identity as an Asian female in the USA.

The track began being teased when NIKI cleared her Instagram on March 22, 2020, with her and her label announcing MOONCHILD a day later. The song’s title was then revealed on March 26, 2020, and snippets of the track’s accompanying music video were teased on the day before the track’s release.