diff --git a/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/DropdownIndicator.tsx b/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/DropdownIndicator.tsx
index 90bd977cd99..9c9244402bd 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/DropdownIndicator.tsx
+++ b/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/DropdownIndicator.tsx
@@ -7,10 +7,7 @@ interface DropdownIndicatorProps {
   hidden?: boolean;
 }
 
-export const DropdownIndicator: React.FC<DropdownIndicatorProps> = ({ isOpen, hidden = false }) => {
-  if (hidden) {
-    return <></>;
-  }
+export const DropdownIndicator: React.FC<DropdownIndicatorProps> = ({ isOpen }) => {
   const icon = isOpen ? 'angle-up' : 'angle-down';
   return <Icon name={icon} />;
 };
diff --git a/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/SelectBase.tsx b/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/SelectBase.tsx
index 1d21a3068f9..d6ab426a6cb 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/SelectBase.tsx
+++ b/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/SelectBase.tsx
@@ -102,7 +102,6 @@ export function SelectBase<T>({
   formatCreateLabel,
   getOptionLabel,
   getOptionValue,
-  hideIndicator,
   inputValue,
   invalid,
   isClearable = false,
@@ -333,7 +332,7 @@ export function SelectBase<T>({
             );
           },
           DropdownIndicator(props: any) {
-            return <DropdownIndicator isOpen={props.selectProps.menuIsOpen} hidden={hideIndicator} />;
+            return <DropdownIndicator isOpen={props.selectProps.menuIsOpen} />;
           },
           SingleValue(props: any) {
             return <SingleValue {...props} disabled={disabled} />;
diff --git a/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/types.ts b/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/types.ts
index 54a38a2680c..a634735b24a 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/types.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-ui/src/components/Select/types.ts
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ export interface SelectCommonProps<T> {
   formatCreateLabel?: (input: string) => string;
   getOptionLabel?: (item: SelectableValue<T>) => React.ReactNode;
   getOptionValue?: (item: SelectableValue<T>) => string;
-  hideIndicator?: boolean;
   inputValue?: string;
   invalid?: boolean;
   isClearable?: boolean;
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.test.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.test.tsx
index 479fb1da91d..81b44058fda 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.test.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.test.tsx
@@ -16,11 +16,10 @@ describe('MultiFilters', () => {
       expect(filterItems.length).toBe(2);
 
       expect(within(filterItems[0]).getByDisplayValue('InstanceId')).toBeInTheDocument();
-      expect(within(filterItems[0]).getByText('a')).toBeInTheDocument();
-      expect(within(filterItems[0]).getByText('b')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(within(filterItems[0]).getByDisplayValue('a, b')).toBeInTheDocument();
 
       expect(within(filterItems[1]).getByDisplayValue('InstanceGroup')).toBeInTheDocument();
-      expect(within(filterItems[1]).getByText('Group1')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(within(filterItems[1]).getByDisplayValue('Group1')).toBeInTheDocument();
     });
   });
 
@@ -40,16 +39,16 @@ describe('MultiFilters', () => {
     it('it should add the new item but not call onChange', async () => {
       const filters = {};
       const onChange = jest.fn();
-      const { container } = render(<MultiFilter filters={filters} onChange={onChange} />);
+      render(<MultiFilter filters={filters} onChange={onChange} />);
 
       userEvent.click(screen.getByLabelText('Add'));
       const filterItemElement = screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item');
       expect(filterItemElement).toBeInTheDocument();
 
-      const keyElement = container.querySelector('#cloudwatch-multifilter-item-key');
+      const keyElement = screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item-key');
       expect(keyElement).toBeInTheDocument();
       userEvent.type(keyElement!, 'my-key');
-      fireEvent.keyDown(keyElement!, { keyCode: 13 });
+      fireEvent.blur(keyElement!);
 
       expect(within(filterItemElement).getByDisplayValue('my-key')).toBeInTheDocument();
       expect(onChange).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
@@ -60,27 +59,27 @@ describe('MultiFilters', () => {
     it('it should add the new item and trigger onChange', async () => {
       const filters = {};
       const onChange = jest.fn();
-      const { container } = render(<MultiFilter filters={filters} onChange={onChange} />);
+      render(<MultiFilter filters={filters} onChange={onChange} />);
 
       const label = await screen.findByLabelText('Add');
       userEvent.click(label);
       const filterItemElement = screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item');
       expect(filterItemElement).toBeInTheDocument();
 
-      const keyElement = container.querySelector('#cloudwatch-multifilter-item-key');
+      const keyElement = screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item-key');
       expect(keyElement).toBeInTheDocument();
       userEvent.type(keyElement!, 'my-key');
-      fireEvent.keyDown(keyElement!, { keyCode: 13 });
+      fireEvent.blur(keyElement!);
       expect(within(filterItemElement).getByDisplayValue('my-key')).toBeInTheDocument();
       expect(onChange).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
 
-      const valueElement = container.querySelector('#cloudwatch-multifilter-item-value');
+      const valueElement = screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item-value');
       expect(valueElement).toBeInTheDocument();
-      userEvent.type(valueElement!, 'my-value');
-      fireEvent.keyDown(valueElement!, { keyCode: 13 });
-      expect(within(filterItemElement).getByText('my-value')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      userEvent.type(valueElement!, 'my-value1,my-value2');
+      fireEvent.blur(valueElement!);
+      expect(within(filterItemElement).getByDisplayValue('my-value1,my-value2')).toBeInTheDocument();
       expect(onChange).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
-        'my-key': ['my-value'],
+        'my-key': ['my-value1', 'my-value2'],
       });
     });
   });
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.tsx
index a6a9fc9f2e5..4ac614445b0 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.tsx
@@ -15,31 +15,22 @@ export interface MultiFilterCondition {
   value?: string[];
 }
 
-const multiFiltersToFilterConditions = (filters: MultiFilters | undefined) =>
-  Object.entries(filters ?? {}).reduce<MultiFilterCondition[]>((acc, [key, value]) => {
-    if (value && typeof value === 'object') {
-      const filter = {
-        key,
-        value,
-        operator: '=',
-      };
-      return [...acc, filter];
-    }
-    return acc;
-  }, []);
+const multiFiltersToFilterConditions = (filters: MultiFilters) =>
+  Object.keys(filters).map((key) => ({ key, value: filters[key], operator: '=' }));
 
 const filterConditionsToMultiFilters = (filters: MultiFilterCondition[]) => {
-  return filters.reduce<MultiFilters>((acc, { key, value }) => {
+  const res: MultiFilters = {};
+  filters.forEach(({ key, value }) => {
     if (key && value) {
-      return { ...acc, [key]: value };
+      res[key] = value;
     }
-    return acc;
-  }, {});
+  });
+  return res;
 };
 
 export const MultiFilter: React.FC<Props> = ({ filters, onChange }) => {
   const [items, setItems] = useState<MultiFilterCondition[]>([]);
-  useEffect(() => setItems(multiFiltersToFilterConditions(filters)), [filters]);
+  useEffect(() => setItems(filters ? multiFiltersToFilterConditions(filters) : []), [filters]);
   const onFiltersChange = (newItems: Array<Partial<MultiFilterCondition>>) => {
     setItems(newItems);
 
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilterItem.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilterItem.tsx
index 5a803fdae9d..9d4f9f4f9ec 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilterItem.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilterItem.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { css, cx } from '@emotion/css';
-import { GrafanaTheme2, toOption } from '@grafana/data';
+import { GrafanaTheme2 } from '@grafana/data';
 import { AccessoryButton, InputGroup } from '@grafana/experimental';
-import { Input, MultiSelect, stylesFactory, useTheme2 } from '@grafana/ui';
+import { Input, stylesFactory, useTheme2 } from '@grafana/ui';
 import React, { FunctionComponent, useState } from 'react';
 import { MultiFilterCondition } from './MultiFilter';
 
@@ -13,27 +13,16 @@ export interface Props {
 
 export const MultiFilterItem: FunctionComponent<Props> = ({ filter, onChange, onDelete }) => {
   const [localKey, setLocalKey] = useState(filter.key || '');
-  const [inputValue, setInputValue] = useState('');
+  const [localValue, setLocalValue] = useState(filter.value?.join(', ') || '');
   const theme = useTheme2();
   const styles = getOperatorStyles(theme);
 
-  const handleInputChange = (inputValue: string) => {
-    setInputValue(inputValue);
-  };
-  const handleKeyDown = (keyEvent: React.KeyboardEvent) => {
-    if (['Tab', 'Enter'].includes(keyEvent.key)) {
-      onChange({ ...filter, value: filter.value ? [...filter.value, inputValue] : [inputValue] });
-      setInputValue('');
-      keyEvent.preventDefault();
-    }
-  };
-
   return (
     <div data-testid="cloudwatch-multifilter-item">
       <InputGroup>
         <Input
+          data-testid="cloudwatch-multifilter-item-key"
           aria-label="Filter key"
-          id="cloudwatch-multifilter-item-key"
           value={localKey}
           placeholder="key"
           onChange={(e) => setLocalKey(e.currentTarget.value)}
@@ -46,22 +35,20 @@ export const MultiFilterItem: FunctionComponent<Props> = ({ filter, onChange, on
 
         <span className={cx(styles.root)}>=</span>
 
-        <MultiSelect
+        <Input
+          data-testid="cloudwatch-multifilter-item-value"
           aria-label="Filter value"
-          value={filter.value ? filter.value.map(toOption) : []}
-          inputId="cloudwatch-multifilter-item-value"
-          inputValue={inputValue}
-          allowCustomValue
-          onChange={(items) => {
-            onChange({ ...filter, value: items.map((item) => item.value ?? '') });
+          value={localValue}
+          placeholder="value1, value2,..."
+          onChange={(e) => setLocalValue(e.currentTarget.value)}
+          onBlur={() => {
+            const newValues = localValue.replace(' ', '').split(',');
+            if (localValue && newValues !== filter.value) {
+              onChange({ ...filter, value: newValues });
+            }
           }}
-          onInputChange={handleInputChange}
-          onKeyDown={handleKeyDown}
-          isOpen={false}
-          hideIndicator
-          options={filter.value ? filter.value.map(toOption) : []}
-          placeholder="value"
         />
+
         <AccessoryButton aria-label="remove" icon="times" variant="secondary" onClick={onDelete} type="button" />
       </InputGroup>
     </div>
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.test.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.test.tsx
index 56ec787b863..28ea9d60c42 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.test.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.test.tsx
@@ -179,19 +179,18 @@ describe('VariableEditor', () => {
       render(<VariableQueryEditor {...props} />);
 
       await waitFor(() => {
-        expect(screen.getByText('Tags.blah')).toBeInTheDocument();
+        expect(screen.getByDisplayValue('Tags.blah')).toBeInTheDocument();
       });
 
       const filterItem = screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item');
       expect(filterItem).toBeInTheDocument();
-      expect(within(filterItem).getByText('foo')).toBeInTheDocument();
-      expect(within(filterItem).getByText('bar')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(within(filterItem).getByDisplayValue('foo, bar')).toBeInTheDocument();
 
       // set filter value
-      const valueElement = filterItem.querySelector('#cloudwatch-multifilter-item-value');
+      const valueElement = screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item-value');
       expect(valueElement).toBeInTheDocument();
-      userEvent.type(valueElement!, 'baz');
-      fireEvent.keyDown(valueElement!, { keyCode: 13 });
+      userEvent.type(valueElement!, ',baz');
+      fireEvent.blur(valueElement!);
 
       expect(onChange).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
         ...defaultQuery,
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.tsx
index 1898bed9fe7..95b42c1b37c 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
-import { union } from 'lodash';
 import React from 'react';
 
-import { QueryEditorProps, SelectableValue, toOption } from '@grafana/data';
+import { QueryEditorProps, SelectableValue } from '@grafana/data';
 import { InlineField } from '@grafana/ui';
 
 import { Dimensions } from '..';
@@ -162,21 +161,17 @@ export const VariableQueryEditor = ({ query, datasource, onChange }: Props) => {
       )}
       {parsedQuery.queryType === VariableQueryType.EC2InstanceAttributes && (
         <>
-          <VariableQueryField
+          <VariableTextField
             value={parsedQuery.attributeName}
-            options={
-              parsedQuery.attributeName ? union(ec2Attributes, [toOption(parsedQuery.attributeName)]) : ec2Attributes
-            }
-            onChange={(value: string) => onQueryChange({ ...parsedQuery, attributeName: value })}
+            placeholder="attribute name"
+            onBlur={(value: string) => onQueryChange({ ...parsedQuery, attributeName: value })}
             label="Attribute Name"
-            inputId={`variable-query-attribute-name-${query.refId}`}
-            allowCustomValue
-            tooltip='Create a "Tags.<name>" value to select a tag'
+            tooltip='Attribute or tag to query on. Tags should be formatted "Tags.<name>".'
           />
           <InlineField
             label="Filters"
             labelWidth={20}
-            tooltip='Pre-defined ec2:DescribeInstances filters and tags to filter the returned values on. Tags should be formatted "tag:<name>" '
+            tooltip='Pre-defined ec2:DescribeInstances filters/tags and the values to filter on. Tags should be formatted "tag:<name>" '
           >
             <MultiFilter
               filters={parsedQuery.ec2Filters}
@@ -208,34 +203,3 @@ export const VariableQueryEditor = ({ query, datasource, onChange }: Props) => {
     </>
   );
 };
-
-const ec2Attributes = [
-  'AmiLaunchIndex',
-  'Architecture',
-  'ClientToken',
-  'EbsOptimized',
-  'EnaSupport',
-  'Hypervisor',
-  'IamInstanceProfile',
-  'ImageId',
-  'InstanceId',
-  'InstanceLifecycle',
-  'InstanceType',
-  'KernelId',
-  'KeyName',
-  'LaunchTime',
-  'Platform',
-  'PrivateDnsName',
-  'PrivateIpAddress',
-  'PublicDnsName',
-  'PublicIpAddress',
-  'RamdiskId',
-  'RootDeviceName',
-  'RootDeviceType',
-  'SourceDestCheck',
-  'SpotInstanceRequestId',
-  'SriovNetSupport',
-  'SubnetId',
-  'VirtualizationType',
-  'VpcId',
-].map(toOption);
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryField.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryField.tsx
index f80172dbfca..53a32f5db91 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryField.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryField.tsx
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ interface VariableQueryFieldProps<T> {
   inputId?: string;
   allowCustomValue?: boolean;
   isLoading?: boolean;
-  tooltip?: string;
 }
 
 export const VariableQueryField = <T extends string | VariableQueryType>({
@@ -26,10 +25,9 @@ export const VariableQueryField = <T extends string | VariableQueryType>({
   allowCustomValue = false,
   isLoading = false,
   inputId = label,
-  tooltip,
 }: VariableQueryFieldProps<T>) => {
   return (
-    <InlineField label={label} labelWidth={LABEL_WIDTH} htmlFor={inputId} tooltip={tooltip}>
+    <InlineField label={label} labelWidth={LABEL_WIDTH} htmlFor={inputId}>
       <Select
         menuShouldPortal
         aria-label={label}
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/migrations.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/migrations.ts
index 66aab1d65e5..0f43968f9ce 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/migrations.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/migrations.ts
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ export function migrateVariableQuery(rawQuery: string | VariableQuery): Variable
     resourceType: '',
     tags: {},
   };
+
   if (rawQuery === '') {
     return newQuery;
   }
@@ -147,7 +148,7 @@ export function migrateVariableQuery(rawQuery: string | VariableQuery): Variable
     newQuery.queryType = VariableQueryType.EC2InstanceAttributes;
     newQuery.region = ec2InstanceAttributeQuery[1];
     newQuery.attributeName = ec2InstanceAttributeQuery[2];
-    if (!!ec2InstanceAttributeQuery[3]) {
+    if (ec2InstanceAttributeQuery[3]) {
       try {
         newQuery.ec2Filters = JSON.parse(ec2InstanceAttributeQuery[3]);
       } catch {
@@ -162,7 +163,7 @@ export function migrateVariableQuery(rawQuery: string | VariableQuery): Variable
     newQuery.queryType = VariableQueryType.ResourceArns;
     newQuery.region = resourceARNsQuery[1];
     newQuery.resourceType = resourceARNsQuery[2];
-    if (!!resourceARNsQuery[3]) {
+    if (resourceARNsQuery[3]) {
       try {
         newQuery.tags = JSON.parse(resourceARNsQuery[3]);
       } catch {