Previously, 48 industry officials named the hottest rookies of the year, and now they've returned with the list of 2011's best stars! Girl group SNSD secured the top spot with the votes of 15 officials. An important thing to note is that the officials who chose them were in no way affiliated with the girls or their company, as many had opted to choose the girls over their own artists. Officials outside of the music industry also reached out to choose SNSD, including variety show PDs and movie directors. Having promoted internationally all year long, the girls accrued nonstop success with "The Boys", topping 'Music Bank' for six weeks in a row and selling out over 300,000 units in sales. Upon hearing their rank, SNSD expressed, "Thank you for watching over us. We'll work harder to show even more next year. Second place was taken by Kim Byung Man with eight votes, earning him the title of the most representative variety star of the year. From 'Gag Concert' to 'Kiss and Cry', his passion for entertaining reached all sectors of the industry. Actor Cha Seung Won took third place with five notes thanks to his 'Dok Go Jin' personality from the MBC drama, 'The Greatest Love'. Hyun Bin and IU tied at fourth place, earning four votes each. Both had created their own syndromes early on in the year, Hyun Bin with 'Secret Garden' and IU with 'Good Day'. Others that came away with one or more votes each were Im Jae Bum, Han Suk Gyu, Jang Geun Suk, Yoo Ah In, and Song Joong Ki. Some of the 48 participants of the survey included PD Park Kyung Duk of 'Inkigayo', PD Cho Hyo Jin of 'Running Man', CEO Yang Geun Hwan of Key East Entertainment, CEO Kim Young Min ofSM Entertainment, CEO Jung Wook of JYP Entertainment, CEO Hong Seung Sung of Cube Entertainment, and composers Shinsadong Tiger and Brave Brothers. Source + Photos: OSEN via Naver