SINGAPORE, Jan 23 — Former radio deejay Juanita Melson, who voiced the original announcements in MRT stations and trains between 1994 and 2008, died on Thursday.

The radio veteran, who was in her early 70s, had also been a programme manager with Rediffusion, one of Singapore’s first cable radio stations.

On Facebook, Kiss92 DJ John Klass described Melson, who had hired him as a radio DJ fresh out of National Service in 1991, as one of the biggest influences in his life.

From using the right words to connect with listeners to showing him when to press play on the record player, Klass told TODAY that Melson had schooled him in the "finer points of radio presenting”.

When he met Melson after his morning shift to "air-check” his show, they would drift into casual conversations. "Those conversations she had, with not only me, helped build a very good relationship with most of her DJs, really strengthening the bond we had.”

Klass said the radio veteran was also instrumental in getting his band Kick! signed to the Japanese record label Pony Canyon. She had introduced the band to the label’s managing director, and the band went on to become one of the most successful local bands in the 1990s.

"I’ll always be grateful to her for being instrumental in my career as a radio presenter and as a singer-songwriter,” he said.

Melson’s voice rang through MRT cabins from 1994 to 2008. Since then, the announcements were done by the present announcer, Chan Hui Yuh. — TODAY