ATEEZ is well known for their playful personalities, and their fans, ATINYs, are equally known for their great sense of humor. A long-running inside joke in the fandom recently made a comeback thanks to the group’s newest album, GOLDEN HOUR : Part.3 In Your Fantasy Edition, which was released on July 11. In particular, Hongjoong’s solo track, NO1, took the joke even further and brought it into the music itself.
The joke originally came from a meet-and-greet session during ATEEZ’s 2024 World Tour. While signing autographs, a fan casually remarked, “Oh my God, I’m taller than him,” referring to Hongjoong. In a funny and quick-witted moment, Hongjoong jokingly acted offended and immediately responded with, “How was the show?” His playful comment was a way of turning the attention back to his performance instead of his height.
The joke stuck with the fandom, and Hongjoong clearly hadn’t forgotten it either. In his track NO1, he cleverly included the fan’s exact comment — “OMG, I’m taller than him” — at the very beginning of the song. This unexpected callback delighted fans, who were thrilled to see their inside joke turned into part of ATEEZ’s official music.
The fan whose voice was sampled in NO1 shared her reaction on ATEEZ’s paid fan messaging platform. She jokingly asked, “uhhh so since I’m in the song… can I get a free meet and greet ticket in LA?” She later posted a screenshot of her message on X (formerly Twitter), captioning it with “im shooting my shot.” The post quickly went viral among fellow fans.
Other ATINYs joined in with their own funny responses. One fan suggested, “Can u actually go on stage and perform with him and just say you’re taller than him into the mic? I think it would be hilarious.” The original fan admitted she’d be too nervous to do that, but everyone agreed the joke should live on.