Shortly after the [article id="1617057"]hit-and-run death of former "American Idol" auditioner Alexis Cohen[/article] on Saturday, tributes to the spunky singer began to pop up around the Web.

One of the first members of the show's cast to comment was judge Paula Abdul, who's in the midst of a seemingly contentious [article id="1616519"]contract negotiation[/article] that might see her leaving the show. She weighed in Sunday night, tweeting, "My heart goes out to the family of Alexis Cohen. She showed great courage at 'Idol' and let's all send our prayers to her family now."

On Monday morning, "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest tweeted, "My thoughts are with the Cohen family. It is such a sad story. She auditioned for the producers for this season and then the terrible news."

Police charged Daniel Bark, 23, on Monday with aggravated manslaughter, a first-degree offense, as well as death by vehicular homicide and eluding a law-enforcement officer, in addition to the original charge of leaving the scene of an accident. Bark allegedly struck and killed Cohen early Saturday morning in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, and then fled. Bail had originally been set at $35,000 but was raised to $150,000. A date for another hearing has not yet been set.

Cohen, 25, was a contestant on the seventh and eighth seasons of "Idol," becoming an unlikely fan favorite for her brash attitude toward judge Simon Cowell. She was struck by the car early Saturday morning and was pronounced dead two hours later. Autopsy results showed that she suffered chest, head and abdominal injuries.

One fan was so moved by the news that she uploaded a Cohen tribute to YouTube, with grainy still images of the singer's most famous audition moments over a mournful score.

And though it's more than 18 months old, another homage began bubbling up on search engines following Cohen's death. Filmed by North Carolina-based Internet comedy duo Rhett&Link, the clip has the pair waxing rhapsodic about the fiery singer's first appearance on "Idol," which they said ended with "one of the most beautiful exit speeches in 'American Idol' history." The pair put Cohen's defiant vow to music, earnestly crooning the lyrics "Whether it be in acting or singing, or whether it be the fact that I have the chutzpah and the b---s to be able to get up and talk ... I will be victorious, always victorious, all rising!" over a folky track. They updated the video on Monday with a condolence note.

The tributes also came in to the popular "Idol" blog Rickey.org, where fans expressed their grief and one said that Cohen was "truly funny" and "quite spirited" the second time she auditioned for the show. The singer's mother said in an interview that Cohen had auditioned in June for the upcoming season of "Idol" with Madonna's "Like a Prayer" and was preparing for a callback audition.