Kingwarz at 00:44, 30 November 2025

2025-11-30T00:44:28Z

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{{About|the King Warz Charts listening initiative|for the complete historical list, see [[Albums of the Week/Archive]]}}

'''Albums of the Week''' is a recurring listening initiative created by [[King Warz]] to explore new music and revisit previously enjoyed albums in a structured, weekly cycle. The project is tied closely to the scheduling of the broader [[King Warz Charts]] system, following the same Friday–Thursday weekly structure.

Originally a personal challenge started in late 2024, Albums of the Week quickly evolved into a regular feature of the King Warz musical ecosystem. In 2025, the initiative became semi-automated through the introduction of '''[[User:AOTWBot|AOTWBot]]''', a dedicated bot designed to manage scheduling, selections, and archival documentation.

== Purpose ==
The main goals of Albums of the Week include:
* Encouraging consistent exploration of new and unfamiliar albums.
* Creating opportunities to revisit classics or albums with personal significance.
* Offering structured listening that complements weekly chart updates.
* Building a long-term archive of albums that shaped various listening eras.

The initiative grew out of King Warz’s desire to expand beyond a long-time focus on artists like [[Mariah Carey]], [[Ariana Grande]], and [[Whitney Houston]], branching further into R&B, pop, rock, and other genres.

== Weekly Structure ==
Albums of the Week follow the same week format as the charts:
* Starts on '''Friday'''
* Ends on '''Thursday'''

For each week, the system attempts to select:
* One '''new album''' (an album not previously listened to)
* One '''repeat album''' (an album that has been heard before or previously appeared in charts or AOTW)

Additional albums may be chosen during themed weeks, seasonal cycles, or special events.

== Automation: AOTWBot ==
The backbone of the modern AOTW system is '''AOTWBot''', an automated script account responsible for assigning albums, updating pages, and maintaining the structure of the project. The bot interacts with multiple pages, processes nominations, and records outcomes after each weekly cycle.

=== What AOTWBot does ===
AOTWBot performs several core tasks:

; Reads nominations
The bot pulls nomination templates from the page:
* [[Albums of the Week/Nominations data]]

Each nomination includes:
* album title
* artist
* category (new or repeat)
* priority level
* preferred months or preferred season
* whether it is a new release
* optional forced week assignment (force_week)
* optional “force next available week” flag (force_next)
* wiki page for linking
* notes and a status field (pending / queued)

Once an album has actually been used as an Album of the Week, its nomination is marked as selected and then removed from this page. As a result, [[Albums of the Week/Nominations data]] is always a pool of future candidates only, not a historical log.

; Scores albums
AOTWBot uses a point-based formula to determine which albums are most suitable for upcoming weeks.

{| class="wikitable"
! Criterion !! Explanation !! Points Added
|-
| Priority || Higher priorities produce stronger base scores || Varies (typically 1–10)
|-
| Preferred season match || If the week’s month belongs to the nominated preferred season || +3
|-
| Preferred month match || If the specific month matches one of the nominated months || +2
|-
| New release || Additional weight given to recent or newly added albums || +5
|}

Forced picks override this scoring:
* '''force_week = X''' assigns the album directly to week X
* '''force_next = yes''' assigns the album as soon as possible in its category

; Builds a rolling 8-week queue
AOTWBot generates a rolling queue that fills a fixed number of future weeks at a time (currently eight).

The queue always starts from the current Albums of the Week week (or the configured first automated week, whichever is later) and extends forward. This schedule is published at:
* [[Albums of the Week/Queue]]

For each week in the queue, the bot separately chooses:
* one candidate for the ''new'' slot (if available)
* one candidate for the ''repeat'' slot (if available)

; Updates live pages each week
When the chart week rolls over and a new Albums of the Week week begins, AOTWBot:

* Reads the entry for the current week from [[Albums of the Week/Queue]].
* Updates the Albums of the Week block on the [[Main Page]] with the selected albums.
* Updates the relevant week page (e.g. [[Week 132]]) in the “Albums of the Week” section.
* Adds the chosen albums and dates to [[Albums of the Week/Archive]].
* Marks the corresponding nominations as selected and then '''prunes''' all selected nominations from [[Albums of the Week/Nominations data]].

After pruning, the nominations page only contains pending and queued entries that have not yet been used. AOTWBot then rebuilds the future queue based on the remaining nominations, keeping the schedule moving forward like a conveyor belt.

; Maintains historical entries
All completed weeks are stored at:
* [[Albums of the Week/Archive]]

Week-specific details are also reflected on:
* individual week pages (e.g. [[Week 132]])
* the [[Main Page]]’s Albums of the Week section

The [[Albums of the Week/Nominations data]] page is therefore not used as history; it is only a live pool of future candidates. Historical information lives in the archive and week pages.

== How Albums Are Selected ==
AOTWBot follows a strict, layered logic to determine weekly selections.

=== Step 1: Forced assignments ===
Albums with:
* a direct week assignment (force_week)
* or a forced next-available assignment (force_next)

are placed before any scoring takes effect. A forced week always anchors an album to that week’s new or repeat slot (if the category matches), and forced-next nominations are dropped into the earliest available slot for their category.

=== Step 2: Score-based ranking ===
Among all albums that have not yet been used and are not already forced into a specific week, AOTWBot:

# Filters by category (new / repeat)
# Computes scores using priority, preferred season, preferred month, and new release status
# Selects the highest-scoring album for each category and week until the queue is filled

This ensures:
* Albums with higher priorities win more often
* Seasonal or monthly preferences influence timing
* New releases can rise above older picks
* The queue reflects personal intention without requiring manual editing
* Already-used albums are never scheduled again, because their nominations are pruned after selection

== Archive ==
The full historical record of all Albums of the Week selections, including dates and outcomes, is located at:

→ '''[[Albums of the Week/Archive]]'''

== Pages Related to Albums of the Week ==
The AOTW system spans multiple interconnected pages:

* [[Albums of the Week]] – this main overview
* [[Albums of the Week/Archive]] – historical table of all weeks
* [[Albums of the Week/Queue]] – bot-generated upcoming schedule
* [[Albums of the Week/Nominations data]] – live pool of future nominations only
* [[Special:FormEdit/Albums of the Week nominations/Albums of the Week/Nominations data|Edit Albums of the Week nominations: Albums of the Week/Nominations data]]
* [[User:AOTWBot]] – bot account managing automation

Albums of the Week - Revision history

Kingwarz at 00:44, 30 November 2025