21 parts Ongoing When JYP asked two of his most popular K-pop groups if they'd be interested in being the first pair of "collab unit" in the company, neither one knew exactly what that would entail. LEVELꜛUP, the first mixed gender group under JYP, and StrayKids, the aces of 4th-generation K-pop, were no strangers. Many of the members spent time together as trainees, and they even debuted around the same time. From some of them MCing shows together, to seeing one another in the JYP ent. Building, it was safe to say they all knew each other relatively well.
But when given the ominous opportunity from JYP himself, none of them had any idea what that even meant.
When JYP went on to describe the new term, "collab unit", as still being separate groups, but often making collaboration songs, doing challenge videos and game shows together, as well as joint tour stops, the idea was intriguing to say the least. Their fan bases overlapped a lot, with a large majority of fans being both Stays and Upgradeurs, so there would most likely be a positive response. However, this has never been done before, and a lot could go wrong if their fans didn't like it.
After a long, thought-out discussion between both groups, they eventually decided that since their fandoms overlapped so much, there wouldn't be any harm in agreeing. And thus, K-pop history was made; LEVELꜛUP and StrayKids became the first-ever collab group of K-pop.